Review: Devils Play Ground

Cast: Lots of Amish folk

Director: Lucy Walker

Category: Indie

Reviewed By: Clay

DVD Special Features: Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 5.1) Commentary by: Lucy Walker, Steven Cantor, and Pax Wassermann (Unknown Format) Deleted scenes

Light on special features but most documentaries are.

Plot: When Amish youth turn sixteen they enter a time of choice. The youth are given an opportunity to see the "English world" and decide if they want to join the Amish church.

The Good: I like a documentary that takes me somewhere I never even dreamed of. Wilding Amish teens is world I did not imagine. The footage of Amish keg parties are totally surreal.

The Amish kids seem to be faced with a choice become Amish or white trash. Everyone in this movie either lived at the family farm or in a single wide trailer by the railroad tracks.

Since the Amish only educate there kids to the eighth grade it doesn’t seem like they really have much choice in where they will end up. The movie provides some good food for thought.

The Bad: To make a documentary you have got to have a spin. Did the director sensationalize the situation in this movie? I have no personal experience with the Amish but this movie paints their youth as a pretty wild crowd. I don’t know enough about this topic to comment on the authenticity so I just went with it and enjoyed it.

Bottom Line: Take a walk on the Amish side. Give it a look if you want a good documentary.